Contract
Exhibit
(d)(15)
RESTRICTED STOCK AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as
of [insert date] (the “Grant Date”), between Xxxxxxx International
Limited, a Bahamian corporation (the “Company”), and [insert
Grantee’s name] (the “Grantee”).
WHEREAS the Grantee has been granted, effective as of the date of this Agreement, an award of
[insert number of shares] restricted Ordinary Shares, $.001 par value per share, of the Company
(the “Ordinary Shares”) pursuant to the Company’s 2005 Stock Incentive Plan (the
“Plan”) on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and of the mutual agreements contained in
this Agreement, the parties hereto agree as follows:
SECTION 1. Definitions. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Agreement
have the meanings given such terms in the Plan. As used in this Agreement, the following terms
have the meanings set forth below:
“Cause” means:
(a) the Grantee’s willful and continued failure, following notice from the Company,
substantially to perform the Grantee’s duties as an employee of the Company or its
Subsidiaries (other than as a result of incapacity due to physical or mental illness);
(b) the Grantee’s negligence or misconduct (including making a negative statement,
written or oral, regarding the Company or its business) in the course of the Grantee’s
employment with the Company or its Subsidiaries that the Committee in its sole discretion
determines is detrimental to the best interests of the Company;
(c) the Grantee’s indictment of, conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo
contendere to (i) a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or (ii) a felony (or the
equivalent of such a misdemeanor or felony in a jurisdiction other than the United States);
(d) the Grantee’s material breach of this Agreement, including without limitation the
provisions of Section 7;
(e) the Grantee’s violation of Company policies that the Committee in its sole
discretion determines is detrimental to the best interests of the Company;
(f) the Grantee’s misappropriation, embezzlement or material misuse of funds or
property belonging to the Company; or
(g) the Grantee’s use of alcohol or drugs that either interferes with the performance
of the Grantee’s duties to the Company or adversely affects the integrity or reputation of
the Company, its Subsidiaries or Affiliates, their
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employees or their products, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.
Any voluntary termination of employment by the Grantee in anticipation of an involuntary
termination of the Grantee’s employment for Cause shall be deemed to be a termination for
Cause.
“Vested Shares” means the Restricted Shares with respect to which the
restrictions set forth in this Agreement have lapsed.
“Vesting Date” means the date on which the Grantee’s rights with respect to
all or a portion of the Restricted Shares may become fully vested, as provided in Section
3(a).
SECTION 2. Grant. (a) In consideration of the Grantee’s services to Company, on the
terms and subject to the conditions of this Agreement, the Grantee is hereby awarded (the
“Award”) [insert number] Ordinary Shares (the “Restricted Shares”);
provided, however, that the Award shall expire if this Agreement is not signed by
the Grantee and returned to the Company within 60 days from the date of receipt by the Grantee of
this Agreement.
(b) Reasonably promptly after the date hereof, the Company shall cause to be issued a
certificate, registered in the name of the Grantee, evidencing the Restricted Shares, provided that
the Company shall not cause such a certificate to be issued unless it has received a power of
attorney duly endorsed in blank with respect to such Restricted Shares. Each such certificate
shall bear the following legend:
THE TRANSFERABILITY OF THIS CERTIFICATE AND THE ORDINARY SHARES REPRESENTED HEREBY
ARE SUBJECT TO THE RESTRICTIONS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS (INCLUDING FORFEITURE
PROVISIONS AND RESTRICTIONS AGAINST TRANSFER) CONTAINED IN THE RESTRICTED STOCK
AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BETWEEN THE REGISTERED OWNER OF SUCH STOCK AND XXXXXXX
INTERNATIONAL LIMITED. A COPY OF THE RESTRICTED STOCK AGREEMENT IS ON FILE WITH
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY.
Such legend shall not be removed until such Restricted Shares vest pursuant to the terms hereof.
Each certificate issued pursuant to this Agreement together with the powers relating to the
Restricted Shares evidenced by such certificate, shall be held by the Company unless the Committee
determines otherwise. Upon the vesting of any Restricted Shares pursuant to the terms hereof, the
restrictions of Section 4 of this Agreement shall lapse with respect to such Restricted Shares.
Reasonably promptly after any Restricted Shares vest, the Company shall cause to be delivered to
the Grantee a certificate evidencing such Vested Shares, free of the legend set forth above,
provided that such delivery may be delayed until the lapse of such reasonable period of time
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following the date of vesting as the Committee may from time to time establish for reasons of
administrative convenience.
SECTION 3. Vesting; Lapse of Restrictions. (a) Unless accelerated as otherwise
provided in Section 3(b) of this Agreement or Section 11(i) of the Plan, the Restricted Shares
shall vest in accordance with the following schedule, provided that the Grantee must be employed by
the Company or an Affiliate on the relevant Vesting Date, except as provided in Section 3(b) of
this Agreement or Section 11(i) of the Plan:
Vesting Dates | Aggregate Percentage of | |||
(Anniversaries of Grant Date) | Restricted Shares Vested | |||
Second |
33 | % | ||
Third |
66 | % | ||
Fourth |
100 | % |
(b) If the Grantee is an employee of the Company or its Subsidiaries immediately prior to a
Change of Control, then the Restricted Shares shall immediately vest in full and become free of all
restrictions upon the first to occur of (i) the expiration of the 18-month period immediately
following a Change of Control or (ii) a Qualifying Termination, provided that the Restricted Shares
have not been forfeited prior to the relevant time.
SECTION 4. Restriction on Transfer. (a) Except as provided in Section 4(b), prior
to the vesting of any Restricted Shares, neither the Restricted Shares nor any of the Grantee’s
rights with respect thereto, may be transferred, pledged, assigned, hypothecated or otherwise
disposed of in any way by the Grantee. The Restricted Shares shall not be subject to execution,
attachment or similar process. Any attempted assignment, transfer, pledge, hypothecation or other
disposition of the Restricted Shares contrary to the provisions hereof, and the levy of any
execution, attachment or similar process upon the Restricted Shares, shall be null and void and
without effect.
(b) The Restricted Shares may be transferred or assigned to (i) a trust with respect to which
the Grantee or a member of his or her family is a beneficiary or (ii) a corporation or other entity
with respect to which the Grantee holds directly or indirectly more than 50% of the outstanding
common stock or other equity interests. All vesting and forfeiture provisions shall continue to
apply with respect to any Restricted Shares that are transferred in accordance with this Section
4(b) to the same extent that such provisions would have been applicable in the absence of any
transfer.
SECTION 5. Withholding Taxes. The Company shall be entitled to require, as a
condition of delivery of the Vested Shares, that the Grantee remit an amount
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in cash sufficient to satisfy any applicable withholding taxes relating thereto, and the
Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall have the right and are hereby authorized to withhold
from delivery of the Vested Shares, or from any compensation or other amount owing to the Grantee,
the amount (in cash or, in the discretion of the Committee, Vested Shares, other securities, or
other property) of any applicable withholding taxes in respect of the vesting of the Restricted
Shares and to take such other action as may be necessary in the discretion of the Committee to
satisfy all obligations for the payment of such taxes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to
the approval of the Committee, the Grantee may elect to satisfy the obligation to pay any
withholding tax, in whole or in part, by having the Company retain Vested Shares or accept upon
delivery thereof Ordinary Shares (other than Restricted Shares) held by the Grantee for at least
six months and one day sufficient in value to cover the amount of such withholding tax.
SECTION 6. Termination of Employment. Except as provided in Section 3(b) of this
Agreement, the provisions of Section 11 of the Plan shall apply in the event of the Grantee’s
termination of employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries.
SECTION 7. Confidential Information. (a) The Grantee agrees that all Confidential
Information is a valuable, special and unique asset of the Company and the Grantee agrees that he
or she will not, directly or indirectly, except with the prior written consent of the Company,
divulge or disclose or communicate, or cause any other person or entity to divulge, disclose or
communicate, to any person, firm, corporation or entity, in any manner whatsoever, any Confidential
Information. The foregoing covenants shall apply to each bit of information for so long as it
remains Confidential Information. For purposes of this Agreement, “Confidential
Information” means all trade secrets, proprietary information and other confidential
information of the Company, including, without limitation, its methods, techniques, and processes,
its development, costs and pricing of its products and services, its business and marketing
strategies and plans, the identity and needs of its clients and potential clients, its survey
analyses and reports prepared for its clients, and any and all non-public information furnished to
the Company pursuant to its contracts with clients, financial data, personnel data, and all the
other know-how, materials and things pertaining in any respect to the Company or its clients and
deemed to be a “trade secret” pursuant to applicable law.
(b) The Grantee acknowledges and agrees that any violation of the provisions of Section 7(a)
would cause the Company irreparable damage and that if the Grantee breaches or threatens to breach
such provisions, (i) as of such time the Award shall terminate, and (ii) the Company shall be
entitled, in addition to any other rights and remedies the Company and its Subsidiaries may have at
law or in equity, to obtain specific performance of such covenants through injunction or other
equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction, without proof of actual damages and
without being required to post bond.
SECTION 8. Rights as a Shareholder. Subject to the provisions of the Plan and
Section 4 of this Agreement, the Grantee shall have all rights and privileges of a shareholder with
respect to the Restricted Shares for which a certificate has been issued to the Grantee, including
the right to vote the Restricted Shares, provided that the
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Company will retain custody of all distributions, including regular cash dividends
(“Retained Distributions”) made or declared with respect to the Restricted Shares, if any
(and such Retained Distributions will be subject to the same restrictions, terms and vesting and
other conditions as are applicable to the Restricted Shares), until such time, if ever, as the
Restricted Shares with respect to which such Retained Distributions shall have been made, paid or
declared shall have become vested, and such Retained Distributions shall not bear interest or be
segregated in a separate account.
SECTION 9. Compliance with Securities Laws. No Ordinary Shares shall be delivered
unless and until the Company and/or the Grantee shall have complied with all applicable Federal or
state registration, listing and/or qualification requirements and all other requirements of law or
of any regulatory agencies having jurisdiction. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this
Agreement, the Committee may revoke this Agreement if it is contrary to law or modify this
Agreement to bring it into compliance with any applicable laws or regulations.
SECTION 10. No Right to Employment. Nothing in the Award shall confer upon the
Grantee any right to continue as an employee of the Company or any of its Affiliates or interfere
in any way with the right of the Company or its Affiliates or shareholders, as the case may be, to
terminate the Grantee’s employment or to increase or decrease the Grantee’s compensation at any
time. The Award shall not be treated as compensation for purposes of calculating the Grantee’s
rights under any employee benefit plan, except to the extent expressly provided in any such plan.
SECTION 11. Plan Controls. The Award hereby granted is subject to, and the Company
and the Grantee agree to be bound by, all of the terms and conditions of the Plan, as the same may
be amended from time to time in accordance with the terms thereof, but no such amendment shall be
effective as to the Award without the Grantee’s consent insofar as it may adversely affect the
Grantee’s rights under this Agreement. The Committee shall have sole discretion to determine
whether the events or conditions described in this Agreement have been satisfied and to make all
other interpretations, constructions and determinations required under this Agreement and all such
determinations by the Committee shall be final, binding and conclusive. In the event of any
conflict between any term or provision contained in this Agreement and a term or provision of the
Plan, the applicable terms and provisions of the Plan shall govern and prevail.
SECTION 12. Notices. All notices, claims, certificates, requests, demands and other
communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given and
delivered if personally delivered or if sent by nationally recognized overnight courier, by
telecopy or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and postage prepaid,
addressed as follows:
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(a) if to the Company:
Xxxxxxx International Limited
Stock Award Administration
0000 Xxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Telecopy: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Human Resources
Stock Award Administration
0000 Xxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000
Telecopy: (000) 000-0000
Attention: Human Resources
(b) if to the Grantee, to such Grantee’s address as most recently supplied to the Company and
set forth in the Company’s records;
or to such other address as the party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other
party in writing in accordance herewith. Any such notice or communication shall be deemed to have
been received (i) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery (or if such date
is not a business day, on the next business day after the date sent), (ii) in the case of
nationally-recognized overnight courier, on the next business day after the date sent, (iii) in the
case of telecopy transmission, when received (or if not sent on a business day, on the next
business day after the date sent), and (iv) in the case of mailing, on the third business day
following the date on which the piece of mail containing such communication is posted.
SECTION 13. Waiver of Breach. The waiver by either party of a breach of any
provision of this Agreement must be in writing and shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of
any other or subsequent breach.
SECTION 14. Grantee’s Undertaking. The Grantee hereby agrees to take whatever
additional actions and execute whatever additional documents the Company may in its reasonable
judgment deem necessary or advisable in order to carry out or effect one or more of the obligations
or restrictions imposed on the Grantee pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.
SECTION 15. Amendment. This Agreement may not be amended, terminated, suspended or
otherwise modified except in a written instrument, duly executed by both parties.
SECTION 16. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (without giving effect to principles
of conflicts of laws).
SECTION 17. Exclusive Jurisdiction; Waiver of Jury Trial. (a) Except as otherwise
specifically provided herein, the Grantee and the Company each hereby irrevocably submit to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Bahamas with respect to any disputes or
controversies arising out of or relating to this Agreement. The parties undertake not to commence
any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement in a forum other than a
forum described in this Section 17(a); provided, however, that nothing herein shall
preclude the Company from bringing any suit, action or proceeding in any other court for the
purposes of enforcing any judgment
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obtained by the Company and, in such event, the Grantee hereby irrevocably submits to the
jurisdiction of such other court.
(b) The agreement of the parties to the forum described in Section 17(a) is independent of
the law that may be applied in any suit, action, or proceeding and the parties agree to such forum
even if such forum may under applicable law choose to apply non-forum law. The parties hereby
waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection which they now or hereafter
have to personal jurisdiction or to the laying of venue of any such suit, action or proceeding
brought in an applicable court described in Section 17(a), and each party agrees that it shall not
attempt to deny or defeat such personal jurisdiction by motion or other request for leave from any
such court. The parties agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, a final and
non-appealable judgment in any suit, action or proceeding brought in any applicable court described
in Section 17(a) shall be conclusive and binding upon the parties and may be enforced in any other
jurisdiction.
(c) Each party hereto irrevocably consents to the service of any and all process in any suit,
action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement by the mailing of copies of such
process to such party at such party’s address specified in Section 12.
(d) Each party hereto hereby waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any
right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or
relating to this Agreement. Each party hereto (i) certifies that no representative, agent or
attorney of any other party has represented, expressly or otherwise, that such party would not, in
the event of any action, suit or proceeding, seek to enforce the foregoing waiver and (ii)
acknowledges that it and the other party hereto have been induced to enter into this Agreement by,
among other things, the mutual waiver and certifications in this Section 17(d).
SECTION 18. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more
counterparts, and each such counterpart shall be deemed to be an original, but all such
counterparts together shall constitute but one agreement.
SECTION 19. Entire Agreement. This Agreement (and the other writings incorporated by
reference herein) constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject
matter hereof and supersede all prior written or oral negotiations, commitments, representations
and agreements with respect thereto.
SECTION 20. Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provisions of
this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provisions of this
Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect to the fullest extent permitted by law. The
Grantee agrees that in the event that any court of competent jurisdiction shall finally hold that
any provision of this Agreement (whether in whole or in part) is void or constitutes an
unreasonable restriction against the Grantee, such provision shall not be rendered void but shall
be deemed to be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision enforceable for the
longest duration and the
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greatest scope as such court may determine constitutes a reasonable restriction under the
circumstances.
SECTION 21. Non-Uniformity of Treatment. There is no obligation for uniformity of
treatment of the Grantee and any other holders or beneficiaries of restricted Ordinary Shares, and
the terms and conditions of this Agreement and such other awards of restricted Ordinary Shares, and
the Committee determinations and interpretations with respect to this Agreement and such other
awards of restricted Ordinary Shares need not be the same with respect to the Grantee and such
other grantees (whether or not they are similarly situated) or with respect to each award held by
the Grantee and any such other grantees.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first
written above.
XXXXXXX INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, | ||||||||
by | ||||||||
Name: | ||||||||
Title: | ||||||||
GRANTEE, | ||||||||
by | ||||||||
[insert name of Grantee] |